Aus Health Minister announces extra Covid vax for Victoria

Melbourne, June 7 Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt has announced extra coronavirus vaccines for Victoria amid its ongoing lockdown due to the latest Covid-19 resurgence in the worst-hit state.

The second-most populous state, also the hardest-hit state by pandemic in the country, has registered around 80 cases linked to the current outbreak, reports Xinhua news agency.

Hunt on Sunday afternoon said an extra 230,000 doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine and 100,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be directed to Victoria over the coming weeks.

"That's recognition of the very strong work being done here in Victoria and the strong demand," he said.

"We want to see other states and territories have that same degree of public support and confidence."

Victoria was forced into its fourth coronavirus lockdown late May after a Covid cluster linked to hotel quarantine was found in Melbourne.

Strict restrictions remain in place for the 5 million residents of greater Melbourne but are expected to ease later this week.

Hunt's announcement came as Australia's vaccine program, which was plagued by supply issues early, hit a milestone with 5 million doses administered.

Australia has so far registered 30,175 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Australia, with 910 deaths.

On Monday morning, the Victorian Department of Health reported 11 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases, all linked to existing outbreaks.